


Staying the Night

by sanctum_c



Series: Aerti Week 2018 [7]
Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Flower Girl!Tifa, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, SOLDIER!Aeris, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27941003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctum_c/pseuds/sanctum_c
Summary: Tifa is more than willing to show Aeris how to get back to Sector Seven - tomorrow.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart
Series: Aerti Week 2018 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2016011
Kudos: 16





	Staying the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt 'Role Swap'

Tifa lived – it turned out – in an absurd picturesque cottage. The exact type of place more at home in a storybook than in the slums of Midgar. And yet Aeris was now inside said cottage, the interior as quaint as the exterior – and nearly as incongruous. She questioned its history over dinner with Elmyra. The older woman claimed the house had been here before the city. Like that answered anything. Tifa explained the presence of flowers, but the house? Her few other attempts to pry went nowhere. Elmyra’s voice was level, her tone polite. And yet there was something in her attitude all but screaming at her to leave now.

The truth – or a hint at it – came when Aeris helped Elmyra with the washing up while Tifa went upstairs to sort sleeping arrangements. “Can you please leave without Tifa in the morning?” An over-night stay necessitated thanks to Tifa’s insistence she guide Aeris back to Sector Seven. For all her reticence on their first meeting, Aeris’s role in getting Tifa out of the church and away from the pursuing Turk had broken down a barrier between them. The other girl hung tight to a number of secrets; though her speculation on the Turk’s interest in her – recruitment – did not ring entirely false. Tifa had demonstrated some past training in martial arts; though the muscle tone in her arms would have said enough.

The comment shook Aeris, the animosity less guarded than it had been. “Sure. I- I’m sorry if I intruded-“

“It’s fine,” Elmyra said, sinking her hands back into the washing bowl after a glance to the stairs. A myriad of creaks from the other side of the house betrayed Tifa’s location. “She’s been through enough already.” Elmyra opened her mouth but shut it again without saying anything. Something more there, something that might figure into her presence specifically. SOLDIER. Something to do with the animosity from the past? A few more burning questions pressed; how and why was Tifa living with this clear non-relative? And what was the deal with the house?

Further attempts to pry thwarted when Tifa descended the stairs empty-handed. “I changed my mind about the sofa,” she said matter of factly and picked up a tea-towel to assist with the drying up. “I’ve got a double-bed, so-“ Aeris met her gaze and her stomach felt weak. “-I think you’d be much more comfortable sharing with me.”

The request from before – leave quietly in the morning without letting Tifa know or taking her with her; the one did not necessarily preclude the other, but it would be a lot easier to leave her behind if she did not know Aeris was gone. The thought petered out and in its place was the more intoxicating notion of her stunning new acquaintance offering to share a bed with her. No. Absurd. Not so soon after meeting, not so soon after the girl had been glaring at her. Aeris might – might – have made such an offer, but never completely serious and with every expectation of getting shot down. Like the first time she slept with another girl; the idea they would do nothing more than kiss sliding into something vastly more intimate only minutes later with the odd insistence from both they would stop. Should stop. And didn’t.

Aeris blinked, her brain stalled. Elmyra shot her a look Aeris declined to notice. “Thank you,” she replied with a grin too wide, a blush pricking her cheeks. “That would be great.”

Tifa nodded and went back to the drying, an awkward silence now hanging over the three of them. Aeris broke it first by asking where one of the pots lived, and she strained to fill the gaps in conversation until the chore was complete. And now doubts crept in. Tifa was being nice surely. Again, too fast, too brazen. There was a misunderstanding somewhere. The possibility remained her words were a chance of something else, but to expect it would lead to disappointment. When bed-time arrived – earlier than the norm following the expectation of the early start – Aeris’s doubts seemed justified. Tifa lead Aeris to her room to wait while she used the bathroom; laid out on the bed were two sets of folded pyjamas. Not exactly the prelude to a night of passion.

Getting distracted Gast. Aeris changed, folding her uniform up carefully on the hamper at the foot of the bed. Tifa had yet to return; the cramped bedroom provided a temporary distraction. The same romanticism the exterior of the house boasted also applied to the interior. The narrow space contained a bed, a chest of drawers, a cupboard and a set of low shelves containing an eclectic set of battered paperbacks. Collages of images occupied sections of the wall, none of them terrible large or connected – at least as yet. Images of flowers and regions outside of the city. Famous spots like Costa del Sol were better represented. Interesting absence of images of areas where Shinra’s presence was strongest; Junon was notable in its absence. Although, who could blame her for not wanting images of that place?

She snapped her head around as the door opened. Tifa shot her a smile. “Your turn.”

Aeris brushed past her and followed the landing across several creaky floorboards to the door at the end. Like Aeris’s room, the bathroom was almost too small for use. Toilet, bath, shower-head above, sink, medicine cabinet. Two toothbrushes in the holder above the sink. Bit of a long-shot to hope for a spare – and now was not the time to route around in the cabinet. Aeris spread a blob of toothpaste on her fingers and brushed her teeth as best she could. Her mind drifted; she forced her attention back to the present. Now was not the time to be thinking about Tifa waiting in the bed, nude. Or lounging back invitingly and ready for her. Stop. They were sharing a bed in total innocence. And they were both wearing pyjamas. Aeris would wake early – or try not to sleep at all – and leave the admittedly appealing Tifa behind. Maybe it would be an idea to come back here in future? When things were more settled. Assuming Tifa would give her the time of day after running away without another word.

Tifa looked up from a book when Aeris opened her door; the title almost lost beneath a cracked and light-faded cover. She smiled and grabbed a small clock on the bedside table. “What time do we need to get up?”

“Six should be fine,” Aeris replied, adding an hour to her estimates. Enough time to be far enough away for pursuit to be meaningless. Tifa nodded and fiddled with the device. She set it down and shuffled closer to the wall. The sleeping position was at least going to make getting out of here easier. Aeris slipped into the bed, careful not to brush against her companion. They both settled back onto the pillows and Tifa clicked off the light. Aeris kept her eyes open and stared at the ceiling.

Any lingering thoughts of Tifa intending something more than sleep were promptly dashed; she rolled away from Aeris, her breathing swiftly became regular and she twitched in response to her dreams. Aeris smiled and rolled the opposite way to face away from Tifa. Sleep normally proved elusive for Aeris. Typical for her to lie in bed for what felt like hours before the night would pass in a rush and morning would arrive. A shock to realise something had woken her; the previous day must have taken more out of her than she thought. Warmer now; bordering on the uncomfortably hot. Something pressed against her back, her legs, her belly- Aeris’s breath caught. Tifa draped across her, breath whispering against the back of her neck. Oh.

How to make things a little more awkward in this situation. Crushing on the girl already and now she had her arms around Aeris. The stolen intimacy was nice, but-

“Are you awake?” a soft voice asked.

Best to be honest. “Yes,” Aeris murmured back.

A pause. “Sorry. Do you want me to move?”

“No.” Too quick. “No,” she repeated. Her tongue flicked across her lips. Getting thrown out of the house right now would make things easier, but the longer sleep would have been nice- “I’m enjoying it.”

Tifa’s arm twitched, her muscles flexing, pulling Aeris a little closer. “Me too.” A soft touch on the back of Aeris’s neck; she let out a quiet moan and the sensation came again. Aeris reached to entwine her fingers with Tifa’s; the other girl touched her lips to her neck again, closer to her throat now. Oh yes. But too slow for Aeris’s liking; she rolled over to face her bed-mate and sought out Tifa’s lips with her own. Tifa moaned at the contact, hastily sucking in a breath as Aeris slipped a hand up under her pyjama top. They did not stay dressed for long; clothing and bed-sheets discarded as the two embraced in the night.


End file.
